Obi - swam out and jumped on the raft and then... what?
The clouds are part of my favourite thing about Maple Lake...I'm aware that I'm supposed to worship sunny days but some clouds make for a prettier picture!
Chris's 19th - Roger, Chris, & Jim - August 20, 2011
After tomorrow it is officially vacation for Roger and me:
Chris has to go to school and work and Jim has a still-new job clocking in 6 or 7 days a week–and a real-no-excuses boss. Fortunately, Jim had a trip back east my see his grandparents not too long ago. <3
Chris is flying into Buffalo, N.Y. –20 miles from the Falls– on Friday morning—leaving Sunday evening. My mom’s memorial is on Sunday August 28th …with folks coming in to the Haliburton Highlands so we decided to make it more vacation-y and stay overnight at a close to everything place in Niagara Falls. Three stars that my oldest son helped me very much in finding–for cheap–check out the topographic map of how easy it is to walk to the Falls! Excitement!
Niagara Falls Ontario--topographic & map view
… then the next morning at 11 a.m.–perfect-ish for a night owl like me…pick up Chris and do something by the Falls before heading back to Maple Lake until Labour Day… is the plan.
PHOTOS: Chris’s birthday at Fridays’ tonight- He refused the singing. (boo):
Chris 19th birthday aug20-2011-fridays-schaumburg-il-by cyn-mccrackan
- Plus: No one* takes my picture – further proof
*only me
August 19 2011 - Son's 19th birthday Fridays with entire nuclear family!
Some Friday's decor that made me nostalgic and I was already _in_ that frame of mind! * On another note: Was I the only chick that thought Linda Ronstadt was hot like 'this'--versus her hot pants-period (later)? I thought so. She's got really soulful eyes.
Happy 19th birthday, Christopher!
After dinner we saw this film:
Saw on August 20 2011
It was just OK…not great. A couple of the science-based plot holes really distracted me from the film. Also, they wasted Frieda Pinto (sp?) other than as eye candy.
Nope, not a lawn chair in sight--we'll make do... Mom did! (Though I DO covet those Adirondack chairs in the background!)
Peggy McCrackan Gathering’ To Be Held August 28, 2011 at Maple Lake Ontario at 12 noon:
Frank’s Way – Take gravel road until sharp left, drive until you see cars can parked at the top of the hill with the Lake below – walk down gentle hill to bottom until just before you walk down into the lake–turn left–2nd white cottage, named ‘Catawompus.’ Stop. You are there.
Directions To Maple Lake Ontario Canada – Frank’s Way – Margaret Victoria Adeline (Peggy) McCrackan’s Memorial Gathering:
Peggy McCrackan - Fall at Maple Lake (mid late 1950's)
Thanks to my spouse for putting the directions to my mother Peggy McCrackan’s, memorial together. He’s been a real sweetheart of late with all things Maple Lake Ontario. She passed on January 12 of this year.
He and our younger son Chris, opened up the cottage last month and spouse and I shall return soon.
Dad is going to be there before us–so go say ‘hi’ to him.
The winter gave the stone shore wall a good bashing
My spouse and son are at Maple Lake–without me (!) ( It is a bit of a long story involving too much ‘stuff’ including the dogs,and work being switched up for both my spouse and me this year).
Anyway, the guys made the long trek in great time!– 12 hours or less and they went easy on account of taking the old Malibu. They sent these shots and as you can see it Maple Lake, Ontario, CANADA looks awesome!
Personal note: However, I would love to put siding on the rest of the cottage! Will be happy to do it but need Dad to supply the material! (We’ll see if he reads this.)
We have special folks/lifelong friends coming up for my mother’s remembrance service at the end of August. Roger and I could get the siding done the week prior.
Dad?
Click to enlarge the pics!
Maple Lake Ontario - beachfront July 27, 2011 That tall fellow is my son.
How the cottage looked on Day 1 ( July 25, 2011)
Spouse in fornt of our cottage, looking darn good for an 'old guy' LOL :kisses:
NOW is the time to give to The Fresh Air Fund—in any way you can:
Summer '94
Literally, all my life I’ve had a beautiful summer place to go.
Thanks to my grandparents, I grew up sometimes spending months on a crystal-clear lake in the breathtakingly beautiful Haliburton Highlands in Ontario, Canada. At the time however, my nuclear family had emigrated to Connecticut–just a stone’s throw from the great state of New York and where I spent the rest of my year. My dad kept the radio on especially in the morning and I’d hear PSA’s for The Fresh Air Fund. It was hard as a child to imagine what it would be like stuck in the suburbs all summer long–never mind the inner city! Later, TV adverts made an even more indelible impression on me that I was exceptionally fortunate as there were many kids who were not.
After over 130 years of giving inner-city children the joy of a summer vacation with volunteer host families and at Fund camps, ‘creating unforgettable memories and fresh possibilities,’ no one needs to remind the not-for-profit The Fresh Air Fund of what a fantastic difference spending some of the summer away from the city can make for children.
Read an excerpt from a recent news story on how summer resources for city youth are going to be even more scarce in summer 2011:
NEW YORK — A rising number of children can look forward to excruciatingly boring school breaks this year as budget crises in places such as New York, Washington, D.C., Houston and Detroit rob them of the activities and programs that have long defined summer in the city for urban youngsters.
Swimming pools are being closed. Recreation centers are locking their doors. Library summer reading programs are suffering. Openings for short-term jobs have evaporated.
Yet, with a shift in perspective, do the kids have to be on the losing end?
‘We can’t afford to have children who don’t have positive places to be during the summer’
In New Orleans, Mayor Mitchell Landrieu this year fulfilled a campaign promise to boost city funding for children’s recreation facilities and summer programs, despite the city’s economic difficulties. While last summer, about 700 children participated in sports and literacy activities through the city’s summer camps for children ages 5 to 18, this year the city is expecting to serve 5,000 campers with the help of local organizations, private partnerships and doubled city funds, said Gina Warner, the executive director of the city’s Partnership for Youth Development.
The city – where nine out of 10 recreation sites were damaged by Hurricane Katrina – will be opening 12 pools this year, up from seven the year before and three the year before that. And libraries will be coordinating with the city summer camps to keep children reading, Warner said.
Warner said that while her city faces the same economic struggles as its counterparts around the country, elected officials see the New Orleans summer programs as not only an investment in children, but also a crime-prevention tool.
“We’re a very tourism-dependent city, and so we can’t afford to have children who don’t have positive places to be during the summer,” she said.
Found photo: Summer 1985 - "jimmy & his mom' Going through recently the thousands of photographs that my mom had amassed, I came across this one, taken by my mom.
Hm, I thought, I’d not ever laid eyes on it or any of it’s companions. Of course Mom took it back in the days of film development vs. downloading and she often wouldn’t get a full 36 photos taken and developed until (as in this case) after vacation, maybe months later.
I remember this day, though. After dinner, with the sun about to begin disappearing, it was time for the little guy to get cleaned up for bedtime. Back then we had no proper shower or tub, so one would take a bar of Ivory soap and scrub up in the Lake. (Now of course, that is an explicit no-no. Not a problem as we’ve long had a shower and pretty cushy sink and vanity, thanks to my Mom and Dad).
Anyway, in this situation, it was not warm out so I got the little guy cleaned up as quickly as I could. He was extremely good–never kicked up a fuss and as you can see, was glad when it was over. This little guy, who ultimately grew up with no Dad, was the perfect kid. Bar none. Ask anyone who knew him then. A perfect child because, I think, he felt he needed to be.
…at least until his step-dad and then, little brother came along..
Maple Lake -Summer '94(?) - Jim (11) and Chris (2) w/ Roger in distant background -'Brothers.' I don't think we ever thought of these guys as 'half' anything. Just brothers. 'This was about as good as it got. And this was pretty darn good. One more 'found shot'. I have a bunch from this set as I took them but they have not yet been scanned 'cept for this one..
One more Maple Lake photo from ’85:
A chillier point in being 2 y.o., getting washed up on a not-warm evening on Maple Lake, Ontario in 1985. ( I am so glad I did not yet have big hair!)
I was a 25 y.o divorced mom. ‘Jimmy’ was born in 1983 when I was 23. I think I was a pretty good mom (grown-up Jim has said so–without prodding or bribing!)–certainly right in there, sometimes overprotective, but that’s pretty typical with one’s 1st child, never mind one with a dad 100% out of the picture. Plus, I’m ‘ya know, fierce as a mom (and if need be, rarely, other times).
Today would have been my mother’s 84th birthday. She passed away on January 12 of this year:
Mom at Ocean World late 1970's
Peggy didn’t make a big deal out of her birthday–but she did other people’s. On April 9th she’d acknowledge that yes, it was her birthday but also her niece Patti as well as (now my memory fails me) deceased dear friend from childhood. It was their birthday, too. She was really, really good at remembering birthdays and anniversaries and such.
I’ve been sifting through the mountainous pile of photographs in my mother’s collection trying to cull the most suitable for her remembrance service at Maple Lake this August 25.* Most of them are from a time before I was born so though they are indeed photos of Peggy, they are not pics of the woman I knew as ‘Mom.’ This one is however very much how I remember my mother.
Notice the camera on her wrist? Ubiquitous when we went somewhere.
I can’t think of a more romantic place to celebrate Valentine’s Day than in the Haliburton Highlands of Ontario. Whether you live in the area, have vacation plans there or perhaps would simply like to take a picturesque drive up from the city and enjoy great food, music and lodging, the Haliburton Highlands is the place to be with your sweetheart on Valentine’s Day! These great ideas for the most romantic day of the year are courtesy of the nice folks at Haliburton Highlands Visitor’s Centre.
From February 15th to 17th, Haliburton County will play host to the Ontario Senior Games – Winterfest:
The January 2011 edition of the Winterfest Newsletter is here!Click here to download a copy in .pdf format.
Accommodation and Competition Maps
Below, you’ll find maps showing the location of accommodations and competition sites for the Games. Map legends are below the map images. To download a full-size .PDF of the map, click here or click on the images below. For a copy of the map Legend in .PDF format, click here.
Accommodation Legend
Main Map
2. Bark Lake Camp – 1551 Bark Lake Drive, (off Cty.Rd. 503 between Irondale & Gooderham)
4. Southwind Motel – 6254 County Rd. 121, Minden
5. Sir Sam’s Inn – 1491 Sir Sam’s Rd. Eagle Lake
11. Sandy Lane Resort – 17592 Hwy 35, Carnarvon
12. Buttermilk Falls Resort – 16941 Hwy 35 Carnarvon
16. Red Umbrella Inn – 1075 Red Umbrella Rd. Minden
17. Highlands Motel – 1064 Omagki Rd. –Hwy 35 Minden
18. Ogopogo Resort – 1023 Ogopogo Lane –Hwy 35 Minden
19. Oakview Lodge – 2029 Little Hawk Rd. Carnarvon off Hwy 35
20. Little Hawk Resort 2049 Little Hawk Rd. Carnarvon off Hwy 35
23. Nobel Motel – 1164 Moore Lakes Estates, Hwy 35 Moore Falls
29. Royal Resort – 44 Royal Cedar Road, City of Kawartha Lakes
30. Waterfront Holiday Inn – 150 George St. Peterborough
Inset A Village of Haliburton
15. Silver Maple Motel – 48 Highland St. Haliburton
Inset B – Kashagawigamog Lake Rd. and area
1. Pinestone Resort – 4252 County Rd 21, Haliburton
4. Lakeview Motel – 4951 County Rd. 21 Haliburton
6. Halimar Resort – 2797 County Rd. 18 Haliburton
7. Bonnieview Resort – 2713 County Rd. 18 Haliburton
8. Marcus Beach County Rd. 21 Haliburton
Inset C – Town of Minden
9. Motel Minden – 12600 Hwy. 35
13.Dominion Hotel – 113 Bobcaygeon Rd.
24.Minden House B&B – 23 Invergordon Ave.
Competition Venue Legend
Main Map
2. Alpine Skiing – Sir Sam’s Ski Resort, 1054 Liswood Rd. Eagle Lake
4c. 65+ Hockey -Keith Tallman Arena 2256 Loop Rd. Wilberforce
6c. Curling – Wilberforce Curling Club County Rd. 648 Wilberforce
5. Duplicate Bridge – Royal Resort -44 Royal Cedar Rd, City of Kawartha Lakes
10.Ten Pin Bowling – Bowlerama 845 ChemongRd. Peterborough
Inset A – Village of Haliburton
1. Opening / Closing Ceremonies Haliburton High School 5358 County Rd. 21 Haliburton
1. Middle Night Entertainment Hockey Night in Haliburton/ Vegas Review
Haliburton High School 5358 County Rd. 21 Haliburton
1a. Volleyball – Haliburton High School 5358 County Rd. 21 Haliburton
1b. Volleyball – JD Hodgson Elementary School, 1070 Grass Lake Rd. Haliburton
4a. Curling – Haliburton Curling Club 730 Mountian St. Haliburton
6a. Hockey – Dysart Community Center, 730 Mountain St. Haliburton
7. Nordic Skiing – Glebe Park, Bayshore Rd. Haliburton
Inset C – Town of Minden / Registration & Accreditation Center
3. Badminton – Archie Stouffer Elementary School, 12 Vintage Cres. Minden -
4b. Curling – Minden Curling Club, 50 Prentice St. Minden
6b. 55+Hockey – S.G. Nesbitt Arena, 55 Parkside Ave. Minden
8. Prediction Skating S.G. Nesbitt Arena, 55 Parkside Ave. Minden
9. Table Tennis – Minden Community Center, 50 Prentice St. Minden
South of Haliburton
10. Ten Pin Bowling – Bowlerama 845 ChemongRd. Peterborough
5. Duplicate Bridge – Royal Resort – 44 Royal Cedar Rd, City of Kawartha Lakes
Hockey Night in Haliburton Star-studded Panel Announced!
The Winterfest 2011 Games Organizing Committee is pleased to announce the following Haliburton Hockey legends that will be partaking in an open panel discusson at the Northern Lights Theatre on Wednesday February 16th, 2011. Confirmed hockey legends include Scotty Morrision, Walt McKechnie, Glen Sharpley and many more still to be announced! Also present that evening will be the Stanley Cup as well as a very special guest who is arguably the face of Canadian hockey!
This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of SPOT. All opinions are 100% mine.
I'm the kind of person that doesn't even like to venture out in the the wilds of the suburban jungle without a way to communicate with civilization as I've grown accustomed to being able to reach people using my smartphone when I need to–and them me, no matter where we are.
As much as a trip out into the true wild sounds appealing and that most people do so without serious incident, I feel strongly that you flirt with danger unnecessarily without being adequately prepared to communicate with the "outside world," a/k/a civilization, if you need to.
As even the most avid outdoors people will acknowledge, anyone can find themselves in trouble in the great outdoors–and it can happen very quickly–even with the best laid plans. Let's face it, part of the reason outdoor adventurers love what they do is the adventure that comes with unpredictability of getting away from it all.
Gift-giving season will soon be upon us bringing the perfect opportunity to meet halfway with the outdoor adventurer in your family who likes to go as they say, "off the grid."
You can now let them have their outdoor adventure and you can keep your sanity too, knowing that if your camping, hiking, all-'round outdoor adventurer should need to do so they'll have access to a vital line of communication with friends and family–when they want it– or a link to emergency assistance when they need it.
The SPOT Satellite GPS messenger uses 100% satellite technology and works almost anywhere in the world–and this is a key point–even where cell phones don’t–and it does so with the simple push of a button.
Right now, for the holiday season, if you buy the SPOT Satellite GPS Messenger you receive a very cool 'bonus' adventure kit valued at $50. The adventure kit includes a coupon for 15% off Basic Service, a flotation case for SPOT, a micro LED flashlight, safety tips bandanna with very good outdoor tips –very practical! You also get a lanyard for your SPOT Satellite GPS Messenger, a safety whistle and a carabineer key chain!
They say that you can't buy peace of mind. I have to disagree that with the SPOT Satellite GPS Messenger, you can buy the peace of mind of knowing that your adventurous loved one can get as wild as they want to be while still being just a touch away from communicating with you back in the cozy confines of the suburban jungle.
… then the next morning at 11 a.m.–perfect-ish for a night owl like me…pick up Chris and do something by the Falls before heading back to Maple Lake until Labour Day… is the plan.
